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Reading Measuring Instruments

Bunge, Mario (2010) Reading Measuring Instruments. Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, 4 (1). pp. 85-93. ISSN 1913-0465

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Abstract

The design, maintenance and use of all measuring instruments involve indicators of the thing, property, or event they are expected to detect or measure. And every quantitative indicator is a functional relation between imperceptible and perceptible facts—for example, the “flow” of time and the rotation of a watch’s hands. The empirical test of any quantitative hypothesis involves the translation of the unobservable variables occurring in it into the observable variable(s) in the indicator hypothesis. Yet, indicators have escaped the notice of nearly all philosophers of science—a fact that may indicate unfamiliarity with laboratory work.


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Bunge, Mario
Keywords: Scientific Realism; Epistemic Issues; Epistemology of Science
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Technology
General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User: Jordan Miller
Date Deposited: 11 Sep 2021 03:03
Last Modified: 11 Sep 2021 03:03
Item ID: 17903
Journal or Publication Title: Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science
Publisher: The University of Toronto
Official URL: https://spontaneousgenerations.library.utoronto.ca...
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.4245/sponge.v4i1.11725
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Technology
General Issues > Values In Science
Date: 30 August 2010
Page Range: pp. 85-93
Volume: 4
Number: 1
ISSN: 1913-0465
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17903

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